The Philips 42PF5521D is a rather large, 42-inch plasma HDTV from a well known brand, costing just a mere Â£650 ($1,300), which seems like a very good deal, considering this is a large HDTV and from a known brand. So is the 42PF5521D simply a great deal? or have Philips cut too many corners shaving the price tag down?. The Philips 42PF5521D is not the best looking HDTV I have ever seen, but it is certainly not the ugliest. The 42-inch plasma display offers a 1024x1080i resolution for 720 and 1080i HD formats, at a quoted contrast ratio on 10,000:1 and brightness of 1400cd/m2. Connection wise the 42PF5521D is quite good, offering two HDMI inputs, component, s-video, composite, and two scarts, unfortunately no VGA PC input (but DVI to HDMI can be used).
The Philips 42PF5521D has been reviewed by TrustedReviews where they say, in place of the vibrancy we always get with LCD and are increasingly expecting from plasma too we get a really drab palette that just doesn’t grab your attention and draw you into the action. It doesn’t help, either, that many of the tones on show look anything but natural.
Once upon a time many years ago the Philips 42PF5521D’s performance might have been acceptable on a budget product, but today even at Â£650 it is seems like much less of a bargain.